Malekith paused, cold and calculating, from his rampant and dazed thought process, a clear smirk rolling onto his lips and curling those those sharp-pointed dimples into a sinister sneer.

"Not many are able to sneak up on me." he mused, turning.

He blinked, cocking his head in momentary surprise as he glanced over the figure standing before him, still clad in thick green and black Asgardian leathers, though he knew as well as anyone else that the milky, pale skin was a facade of the sinister, cold beast lurking right under the surface.

Malekith snorted, both in amusement and curiosity, as he glanced Loki over from head to toe. Those green eyes gave away no emotion, only a blank stare and grim features casting a shadow over Malekith's suddenly wavering confidence.

'I'll find something to break,' Malekith reassured himself silently, 'the self-proclaimed trickster is a fool to think he is a match for me.'

"I was expecting the mortal woman with the fiery hair," Malekith lamented, "she seems to be the interrogating type."

Loki momentarily raised an eyebrow, but it lowered as quickly as it came.

"Now, now," he mused, "shall we not dwindle? You are fully aware of why I am here, but forgive me for not being clear on why you have targeted the Tesseract."

Malekith's smirk faded briefly, a puzzled look crossing his face. Had it not been obvious, his own goals?

"I believe you already know that answer."

"May or may it not be so, why do you want the Tesseract, Malekith? And what have you done with Agent Barton?" Loki responded, calm and collective, yet rather assertive still.

"I would say, I've expanded his mind. What do you care, for Agent Barton?" Malekith chuckled back.

Loki paused, his lips drawn into a thin line.

"It is my duty to protect the mortals you have threatened, and one of them you have taken hostage to your insanity, thus I would like him returned." Loki sharply answered, fists clenching.

"Really now? This world is in imbalance...and you are bargaining for one man?"

Loki tilted his head to the side, clearly aggravated and on the verge of breaking down. Malekith had to prevent himself from laughing aloud... Oh, the glory of causing quite the chaotic stir was marvelous in his eyes!

"Many perish on a daily basis. I rather tend not to weep. I'm a Prince of Asgard, I was raised proper. Or, I was a prince." Loki muttered.

"And, what are you now?" Malekith inquired, so eager and exuberant to damage this Jotun scum he so deeply despised.

"I don't believe it is complicated. The mortals here would use the term, 'I have red in my ledger.' And I would like to eliminate that red."

Malekith grinned madly now, every inch of him nearly bouncing for joy as he slowly stood to meet Loki's height, maybe even an inch or so taller, with dagger-like teeth and a tongue drooling with whit.

"Can you? Can you wipe out that much red? Laufey's son, the murderer of your own father, destructor of your own birth realm?" Malekith cooed, sweetly as possible. He could not withhold his maniac chuckle as Loki's confidence dropped, digging itself a deep hole of shock.

"Every soul in the realms, and beyond, knows! Your ledger is dripping, it's gushing red! And you, a Jotun, the scum of Yggdrasil, the lowest of the low and the most vile creature known to any race, sparing a mortal spare no virtuous than yourself, will change anything? This is a child at prayer... Pathetic! You lie and kill in the service of liars and killers. You pretend to be separate, to have your own code, something that makes up for the horrors. But they are a part of you, and they will never go away!"

There were tears of shock and anguish beginning to loosely trail down Loki's cheeks, the horror of it all crashing down upon him. Malekith reared, slamming his fist on the glass for effect, howling with wickedly amused laughter as he stared upon the skinnier, smaller being.

"But you just wait until I'm out of this glass prison. Nothing can hold me forever. I won't kill you yet, but I will teach you pain, runt. I will hold you down, allowing my Chitauri army to destroy you with their bare claws... Slowly, intimately. And I'll leave you just barely alive so your dearest friends can see your mutilated corpses and scream, before I slaughter them all!" Malekith roared, letting loose all his slimy manipulation, before finally continuing.

"That is my bargain, you mewling quim!"

Loki stepped back, turning away. He shuddered immensely, hands clutching around his body like some meager mortal woman.

"You are a monster." he shakily spat, too in grief to even think of a proper insult.

Malekith shook his head, sniggering with content.

"Oh no, I'm not the monster. You brought the monster." he responded calmly.

Loki whirled around, suddenly the image of a sobbing, heartbroken creature vanquished.

"Ah, so Banner is your play?" Loki asked firmly.

"What?" Malekith asked, trying to mask his inner surprise.

Loki grinned cheekily, giving a little bow.

"Thank you, for your cooperation." Was his last words, before he strolled cheerily away.